Calendar of Activities

Synergies Workshop 2016

Global workshop on enhancing national cooperation and coordination for the implementation of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions

Organizers

Organized by the Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions.

The Government of Switzerland kindly provided funding for the workshop.

Objectives of the workshop

To facilitate the establishment and strengthening of existent national institutional structures and coordination mechanisms for the implementation of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions

To provide a platform to share best practices and lessons learned related to substantive and procedural issues encountered by parties in implementing the conventions.

Target audience

National officials from the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions, who are responsible and/or involved in the implementation of at least one of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions at the national level.

Documents

Title

English

Report

Information for participants

Visa

It is the responsibility of each participant to apply for the required visa. Visas must be obtained prior to arrival.

Please note that a Schengen visa is required even for transiting through Schengen zone European Countries. The time needed for a request for visa to be processed may vary from case to case. It is therefore strongly recommended that visa applications be made with sufficient time in advance, so that a Schengen visa can be issued.

More information is available on the Swiss Department of Foreign Affairs at the following links:

The United Nations does not cover life or medical insurance for participants. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the participants or of their Governments to obtain adequate insurance prior to travel to Switzerland.

Accommodation

It is the responsibility of participants to make their own arrangements for accommodation. The Secretariat encourages all parties to make such arrangements at the earliest possible opportunity.

An updated list of hotels offering preferential rates to the United Nations is available.

Local transportation and security

Once in Geneva, reaching the conference centre is simple. The international airport (http://www.gva.ch/en/DesktopDefault.aspx) (Geneva Cointrin) is about 5 kilometres from the conference centre, a journey of approximately 10 minutes by taxi. The main railway station (Geneva Cornavin) is 2 kilometres from the conference centre and the two are linked by public transport (tramway and bus) and by taxi.

Public transport (http://tpg.ch/) in Geneva is fast, frequent, safe and clean. Bus number 10 links the airport with downtown Geneva, with connections approximately every eight minutes, and train services are also available. The Unireso ticket, offered by the Geneva airport authority, allows the free use of public transport (http://www.gva.ch/en/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-67/) in the city for a period of 80 minutes. Unireso tickets can be obtained from the machine in the baggage collection area on the arrivals level of the airport.

The International Environment House can be reached from the main railway station by taking bus number 6 or 19 (you need to get off at the bus stop “Chatelaine”).

Taxis are easily available and safe, but comparatively expensive. If you need a taxi, call 022 320 22 02 or 022 331 41 33.

Although Geneva is a comparatively safe place and violent crime is rare, the incidence of pick pocketing and theft has increased considerably over the last few years. Participants are advised to pay particular attention at the airport, around the Cornavin railway station and in the Paquis district of the city, and to not leave their luggage unattended at any time.